Clash of the Champions XIX

Legacy Review

Clash of the Champions XIX

June 22, 1992 (taped June 16) from the McAlister Field House in Charleston, SC

Commentary: Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura

This is the first Clash of the Bill Watts era, coming off a wonderful Beach Blast PPV that continued WCW's hot 1992 started under Kip Frey. Watts decided to rekindle WCW's alliance with the NWA, so this show has a singular focus- the first round of the tournament to crown new NWA World Tag Team Champions. Interestingly, this would be the only Clash not to air live.

The show opens with Tony Schaivone, Missy Hyatt and Magnum TA in front of the giant bracket board. I've read the dirt sheets so I know that no man that wants to stay disease free should go there, but still, what Hyatt is wearing is.....yum yum. She mentions that New Japan will be hosting the tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion, more details to come. Watts joins the team because he had to get himself on TV at least once every show and makes it clear that tonight's matches are all under NWA rules, which is code for you can actually do moves off the top rope.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat and Nikita Koloff def Joe and Dean Malenko in 9:50- The future Man of 1000 Holds is making not only his WCW debut, but his first appearance for any major company. Even though the Malenko family had been in the US at least two generations they were billed as representing Hungary because WCW was desperate to call any team international. Joe and Steamboat start. A really good chain wrestling standoff leads to a test of strength. They maneuver around on the mat still knucklelocked until Steamboat hits a DEEP armdrag. Dean blind tags in and walks into more DEEP armdrags. Koloff tosses Dean around. Dean comes off the top rope. Koloff catches him. Joe runs in and dropkicks Dean in the back, dropping Dean on top for 2. Koloff no sells a suplex. Dean blocks a rollup but gets planted by Koloff. Joe pummels Steamboat with European uppercuts in the corner. Koloff and Dean get into it on the apron. Steamboat goes for a flying headscissors but Joe drops him down into the top turnbuckle. The Malenkos finally get some sustained offense and some near falls. Dean hooks Steamboat in hold #562. Joe hits a Rainmaker style short clothesline (he even did the spin) for 2. Steamboat and Joe badly mistime a backdrop coutner, with Joe going down before Steamboat pushes him. Tags. Koloff runs wild and hits the Insert Current Home Country Here Sickle for 3. Rock solid. **1/2

 

"Ravishing" Rick Rude and "Stunning" Steve Austin (w/Medusa) def "The Z Man" Tom Zenk and Marcus Alexander Bagwell in 7:54- The Dangerous Alliance still existed as a going concern, but Watts clearly didn't care about it nearly as much as Frey did. Rude and Austin are still the US and TV champs respectively. The old silver NWA TV title belt has finally been replaced with the gold WCW version. They open up with Rude instantly demolishing Bagwell, taking the rookie to school. Bagwell comes back with a double ax handle off the second rope to Austin. Zenk and Austin have a headlock/headscissors standoff. Rude forearms (one of the most underrated forearms in the business too) and dropkick on Zenk. Huge Rude suplex for 2. Zenk desperation small package for 2. Bagwell tags in and immediately starts getting his ass kicked again. Rude piledriver on Zenk for 2. The heels keep Zenk cut off in their half of the ring. They get a huge double clothesline behind the ref's back. Zenk gets a superkick and manages to tag out. Bagwell crossbody for 2. He hits a sunset flip on Rude. Medusa distracts the ref. Rude drops Bagwell, hits the Rude Awakening, and good night. A near dominant performance from the Dangerous Alliance guys. **

Gordy and Williams are with Eric Bischoff. They want everyone to know they want the Steiners again and don't really care about anyone or anything else.

 

The Miracle Violence Connection def Larry and Jeff O'Day in 2:35- Larry is the father and had been wrestling since the '60s, Jeff is the son and had been wrestling about a year. The MVC are billed as representing Japan thanks to their dominant run in All Japan. Larry and Gordy start. Larry looks his age. It's not pretty. Gordy drags him around by his leg, puts on a single leg crab and tags. Larry dodges Williams in the corner and tags out. It's Bill Watts rules rookies get their asses kicked, so Jeff gets his ass kicked. Gordy with a corner clothesline. Jeff gets a sunset flip for 2. Larry comes back in and eats a huge Saito suplex from Gordy. He dropped Larry right on his head. Larry comes off the ropes and thinks he's going to hit both MVC guys with a double clothesline, but they say "fuck that" and just flat run him over. The Oklahoma Stampede from Williams finishes it. I'm rating this way higher than I should only because the MVC clearly not giving a shit about anything Larry O'Day wanted to do was absolutely hilarious. *

 

Ventura is in the ring for an interview with WCW world champ Sting. Sting's all gussied up in a tux for some reason. His feud with Vader was starting, with a title match scheduled for GAB. Sting tells a nice but short "David and Goliath" promo and that's it. Vader would end up winning the match and the title due to an overzealous mistake by Sting in the first of many classics between the two.

"The Natural" Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham def Arn Anderson and "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton (w/Paul E Dangerously) in 10:23- Former Horsemen teammates Windham and Arn open things up. Nice back and forth until Windham SMACKS Arn with his still taped up right hand. Arn gets a knee up in the corner and goes up top, but Windham dropkicks him to the floor! Arn limps around a bit. He might have legit tweaked his knee on the fall. It's almost like there should be pads out on the floor to help keep guys from getting hurt or something. He's Arn Anderson so he shakes it off on the apron and keeps going. Eaton stuttersteps a Dustin leapfrog and punches him in the gut. Dustin responds with bionic elbows and big boots Eaton to the floor. Paul E loudly complains about two over the top throws so far to the ref's dead ears. Dustin atomic drops Arn and he and Windham ricochet him around a bit. When Arn gets back to his corner Paul E calls for Plan B (not as in barricade). While Windham's running the ropes Eaton kicks him in the back of the head. Plan B. Eaton backdrop for 2. Windham counters an Arn backdrop and tags. Dustin with a diving lariat on Arn. He goes for a backdrop. Arn hooks up a DDT. Dustin blocks it, but Eaton pops him with a hard right. Great sequence. Eaton dodges a crossbody and Dustin flies to the floor. Paul E gets a phone shot in and soaks up the crowd's hatred. Eaton knee off the top rope for 2. Dustin jawbreakers out of an Arn chinlock. Eaton cuts the tag off and hits a bulldog for 2. He goes for a second but Dustin pushes off. He tags but Arn has the ref distracted. Donnybrook! World's Greatest Spinebuster! The heels have to swap since Eaton was legal and that gives Dustin enough time to kick out. Eaton goes for the Alabama Jam but Dustin dodges it. He hits the bulldog for 3! These four guys could have a good match in their sleep. ***1/2

Missy Hyatt is back and rolls off some dates and locations for the NWA World title tournament. You might know the name that tournament went by in Japan- the 1992 G1 Climax. After that the MVC storm the stage and say there's a massive wreck outside and there might be some Puerto Ricans in it, with Gordy providing some funny visuals. The Steiners were scheduled to face the Puerto Rican team in the first round. Williams pretty much says they caused it so they could have the Steiners tonight.

 

The Fabulous Freebirds def The Silver Kings in 6:28- The Silver Kings have numbers instead of names but aren't in masks which I'm sure is a violation of some portion of the lucha code. Lucha history is not my strong suit, but one of the team is the "real" Silver King, who also wrestled as Black Tiger at one point, with the other is El Texano. They look extremely similar and, again, lucha history isn't my wheelhouse so bear with me here. The Freebirds jump and gets one King to missile dropkick the other. After some arm wringer counters the Kings get advantage on Garvin. Decent speed/counter run and Garvin dodges a senton off the top rope. The Kings double team a slingshot senton and eblow off the top on Hayes. Hayes and King 1 (?) stop the match to play to the crowd. Lots more fumbling around with the occasional move. Missile dropkick on Hayes. Garvin breaks the pin up. The Freebirds, who were still faces here, start getting a bit heelish as everyone jumps in the pool. The Freebirds get dropkicked to the floor. The Kings do a 619 swerve but the Freebirds anticipate the plancha and are ready for it. The Kings take each other out again on the floor. Hayes rolls the legal one in and Paul Smackages him to win. Total clash of styles and the Freebirds looked like they really didn't care about trying to make it work. 3/4*

Ole Anderson joins Tony and TA with a bunch of bracket sheets trying to figure out how the Steiners' forfeit is going to work. Um, it's a single elimination bracket, it shouldn't be that difficult.

 

Jushin Thunder Liger and "Flyin'" Brian Pillman def Chris Benoit and Biff Wellington in 11:30- Another big WCW debut, this time for Chris Benoit, who had already made a name for himself in Stampede and New Japan. JR even mentions he's a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight champ and his battles with Liger over that title. It's cool to see him in his Pegasus Kid gear in a WCW ring. Speaking of gear, Liger is rocking a pretty sweet almost all while outfit tonight. Anime Jesus. Wellington was a Stampede mainstay who didn't work much outside of Canada, and teamed with Benoit there for years so they were familiar. Liger and Benoit start. Both guys flip out of arm wringers. Benoit gets a fireman's carry takedown. Liger suplexes out of a test of strength and hits armdrags. Both guys dodge dropkicks and reset. If the crowd had any idea who these guys were they'd be applauding right now. New Japan tape trading not a big thing in South Carolina in 1992. Both teams swap. Wellington hits a tackle. Pillman gets a monkey flip and dropkicks Wellington to the floor. Wellington gets on the apron and Pillman dropkicks him off again! He charges but Wellington cuts him off with a slingshot clothesline. He throws Pillman out and tries to suplex him back in, but Pillman blocks and suplexes Wellington to the floor. You knew two old Stampede guys were going to work that spot in. Benoit with big chops and a clothesline on Liger. After another speed run Liger hits an enzuguri. Wellington scoops Liger and tosses him over the top to the floor. He goes for a plancha that Liger casually sidesteps. Back in they have trouble coordinating a corner monkey flip. Pillman uses momentum to fling Benoit to the floor. They both go to the top rope. Pillman hits a back superplex! He follows it up with a dropkick off the top rope. Benoit goes to the floor and Pillman hits him with a crossbody off the apron. Liger dodges Wellington and he tumbles over to the floor. Liger with a dive off the top to the floor! He tries a crucifix but Wellington drops him. Benoit sets Liger up for a back superplex. Liger twists and falls on top of Benoit! Wellington breaks the pin up. A Liger spinning heel kick sends Benoit back to the floor. Liger with a springboard moonsault to the floor! Pillman tries a roll up but runs right into a Wellington kick. Wellington misses a splash off the top and everyone's in. Pillman and Benoit murder each other with chops on the floor while Wellington and Liger visibly stall in the ring. Liger hits the moonsault and Pillman holds Benoit back while he gets the pin. Just a small sample of what at least 3 out of these 4 guys were capable of, no offense to Wellington. I bet Watts *hated* this match. ***3/4

 

Akira Nogami and Hiroshi Hase def The Headhunters in 5:19- The Headhunters are your typical generic one night masked team, and are billed from the Dominican Republic because why not. Sadly, neither one is Jack Victory. Their mask design look at lot like the famous black/white aliens from the Star Trek TOS ep "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". Hase was a megastar in New Japan while Akira was a rising star. Akira takes corner clotheslines from both Hunters, then twists out of a suplex and kicks one in the back of the head. Hot shot on Akira. Spinning heel kick from Akira and tag. Hase knocks a Hunter around. Akira splash off the top rope, but Hase's kneedrop off the top is dodged. The Hunters double suplex Hase. There's a mini-donnybrook and Akira and Hase hit a German and belly to belly with bridges and get a stereo pin. Horrible layout with the Hunters getting almost all the offense and the New Japan guys getting no chance to show what they could do. 1/2*

Ventura is in the ring for another interview, this time with Ron Simmons, who's already being groomed to be the first black world champion in history, one of Watts' few good ideas during his WCW run. Harley Race and Super Invader interrupt. Race gives his (in)famous "When I was world champ a boy like you was carrying my bags" line and it's on. Simmons fights both guys off. Race could still bump like a maniac. After commercial it's Tony and Watts in the ring. Watts makes the NWA sound like the bad guys, even going so far to claim the NWA president was going to resign in protest, but because of the forfeit the second round of the tournament starts TONIGHT.

 

Quarterfinals: The Miracle Violence Connection def The Steiner Brothers in 15:01- These teams went to a 30 minute time limit draw for the Steiners' WCW world tag titles at Beach Blast. Gordy and Rick start with some feeling out mat wrestling. Gordy hits a forearm and tries to wrap up a single leg crab. Rick gets to the ropes. Gordy blocks Scott's belly to belly suplex. They have to have a few goes at the bridge up spot. Williams and Scott also go amateur for a bit. Rick hits a belly to belly on Williams that flings him across the ring to signal the feeling out is just about over. JR actually mentions Rick and Williams were in the Varsity Club together. A Williams slap in the corner sets Rick off. He does a double leg takedown and ground & pounds Williams. Williams responds with a huge clothesline that Rick 360 sells. Gordy corner clothesline. Rick reverses a belly to belly. Scott hits a double underhook powerbomb. Gordy dodges the Frankensteiner and hooks in an STF. Scott gets a questionable rope break. Gordy drops Scott down right on Williams' knee. Williams backbreakers for 2. Gordy hits a powerslam and grapevines Scott's leg. Double tackle from the MVC. Scott kicks Williams in the face with an enzuguri-like move and tags. Rick Steinerlines Williams 360 and out. Slugfest with Gordy. Williams comes from behind. Rick powerslams Williams but the ref refuses to count because he didn't see the tag! Scott is still legal. All four guys brawl on the floor. Williams clips Scott's knee. Back in Williams presses Scott, then flips him over into a powerslam! That's freaking impressive. Scott kicks out! Rick and Gordy won't stop fighting. The ref gets Rick out. Scott hooks up a belly to belly on Williams, but Gordy comes in and clips his knee again! Williams covers and gets the pin. Fantastic, very physical match from two teams that liked getting physical and working stiff, and with pretty airtight psychology to boot. The MVC would again take advantage of hurting Scott's knee to take the WCW tag titles from the Steiners the week before GAB. ****1/4

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- The last high of WCW's great first half of '92 run before Watts started to wear the roster down with his bad ideas and worse attitude. Another all time great Clash and a must watch for any fan of tag team wrestling.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: A-